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Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
One of the world's cheapest holiday destinations reveals £1.5billion airport expansion with phoenix-shaped terminal
The island has been nicknamed the 'Venice of Vietnam' FLY IN One of the world's cheapest holiday destinations reveals £1.5billion airport expansion with phoenix-shaped terminal Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN UNUSUAL bird-shaped terminal is opening as part of the a major £1.5billion airport upgrade on an affordable holiday island. The Phu Quoc International Airport, which serves a small island off the coast of Cambodia, is getting a billion pound upgrade - and it looks like a mythological phoenix. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Phu Quoc airport will have a completely new look by the year 2050 5 The outside of the airport will look like a phoenix The airport works will be carried out in two phases, with the first set to be complete by 2030. In the next five years, Phu Quoc International Airport should be able to accommodate up to 18 million passengers per year. This is over four times its current capacity of four million. By 2050, when the second phase is set to be complete, the airport is expected to handle up to 50 million passengers per year. According to Vietnam Plus, the first stage will cost 26.57 trillion VND (over £756million) and the second will be an additional 25.79 trillion VND (£750million). The airport is being designed by Singapore-based CPG Airport Consultants, and the unique shape of the terminal is intentional. It's inspired by a phoenix spreading its wings, symbolising "national pride and prestige", according to Vietnam Plus. In addition to the existing runway, a second runway will be constructed. The two runways will be over 3,000 metres each, and will mean that wider aircraft used for long-haul flights from Europe and the US will be able to land on the island. Inside, the designs for the terminal reveal a light and airy space. I left the UK & moved to the cheapest country in the world - rent is £432 a month, petrol AND lunch is £1 & beer is 40p 5 The white sandy beaches are a big focal point of the island Credit: Alamy 5 And it will be kitted out with a shopping centre as well as modern technology from remote check-in to automated baggage sorting, and biometric identification. With all of this, the entry and exit times are set to be reduced to 15–30 seconds per person. There will also be changes in the surrounding areas with major roads being built and expanded to accommodate for expected traffic. Last year, Vietnam was named as being the most affordable place to live in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to the Expat Insider survey. One Sun Travel writer travelled to Hoi An in Vietnam where he discovered bargain beers for as little as 30p. Phu Quoc is an island off the coast of the mainland and has been given two affectionate nicknames because of its natural beauty. The first being 'Pearl Island' because of its white sandy beaches, and 'the Venice of Vietnam' thanks to its narrow lanes and colourful shops fronts. In 2024, Phu Quoc was named the World's Leading Nature Island Destination by the World Travel Awards. And in July of 2024, the island was voted world's second most beautiful island by Travel+Leisure. Here's more on the exotic beach town crowned 'cheapest destination' for Brits. And one couple even upped sticks and decided to move to the destination.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
One of the world's cheapest holiday destinations reveals £1.5billion airport expansion with phoenix-shaped terminal
AN UNUSUAL bird-shaped terminal is opening as part of the a major £1.5billion airport upgrade on an affordable holiday island. The 5 Phu Quoc airport will have a completely new look by the year 2050 5 The outside of the airport will look like a phoenix The airport works will be carried out in two phases, with the first set to be complete by 2030. In the next five years, Phu Quoc International Airport should be able to accommodate up to 18 million passengers per year. This is over four times its current capacity of four million. By 2050, when the second phase is set to be complete, the airport is expected to handle up to 50 million passengers per year. Read More on Vietnam According to The airport is being designed by Singapore-based CPG Airport Consultants, and the unique shape of the terminal is intentional. It's inspired by a phoenix spreading its wings, symbolising "national pride and prestige", according to In addition to the existing runway, a second runway will be constructed. Most read in News Travel The two runways will be over 3,000 metres each, and will mean that wider aircraft used for long-haul flights from Europe and the US will be able to land on the island. Inside, the designs for the terminal reveal a light and airy space. I left the UK & moved to the cheapest country in the world - rent is £432 a month, petrol AND lunch is £1 & beer is 40p 5 The white sandy beaches are a big focal point of the island Credit: Alamy 5 And it will be kitted out with a shopping centre as well as modern technology from remote check-in to automated baggage sorting, and biometric identification. With all of this, the entry and exit times are set to be reduced to 15–30 seconds per person. There will also be changes in the surrounding areas with major roads being built and expanded to accommodate for expected traffic. Last year, Vietnam was named as being the most affordable place to live in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to the Expat Insider survey. One Sun Travel writer travelled to Hoi An in Vietnam where he discovered bargain beers for as little as 30p. Phu Quoc is an island off the coast of the mainland and has been given two affectionate nicknames because of its natural beauty. The first being 'Pearl Island' because of its white sandy beaches, and 'the Venice of Vietnam' thanks to its narrow lanes and colourful shops fronts. In 2024, Phu Quoc was named the World's Leading Nature Island Destination by the And in July of 2024, the island was voted world's second most beautiful island by . Here's more on the And one couple even 5 The Phoenix shape represents "national pride and prestige"
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I'm 33 and leaving for Dubai – the earning opportunities are enormous'
Have you left Britain behind for a new life abroad? Tell us at money@ On the face of it, Ben Rose is a typical 30-something Londoner. He has a flat in Fulham, a job in real estate and a girlfriend he is planning a future with. 'We're both very, very British, in the sense that our whole families for multiple generations have come through here,' he says. 'My father, back in the day, played rugby for England, and my mum was a daughter of a farmer in Buxton, in Derbyshire.' But despite his British-as-they-come roots he's made a radical decision: he doesn't want to live here anymore. The 33-year-old has packed up and let out his flat, and last Saturday, with a couple of suitcases and his golf bag, headed for Dubai. His girlfriend, Tara, will join him in the autumn. For Rose, Dubai presents a chance to succeed that he feels he can't get here. 'We're very British people but we still, even with all of our infrastructure and deep roots here, we still view moving as a great opportunity.' Tara has a less rosy view of the city she plans to leave behind. 'London has become an awful place to live, particularly with crime. My car, for example, has been vandalised and broken into twice within eight months. I no longer feel safe. 'Being taxed to the hilt is also a factor. I want to live somewhere I feel valued for my contribution, not used and alienated. I see Dubai offering a much better – and safer – lifestyle for us, and we'll be able to keep more money in our pocket.' The couple aren't the only ones with their eyes on the to Expat Insider, around 240,000 British people are now estimated to be living in Dubai – more than in Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton or Derby. Rose, who has worked in commercial real estate for about 12 years, has a new job in Dubai, which is part of what precipitated the move. 'Dubai offers the most favourable taxation structure globally, and the lifestyle and weather is more or less unparalleled in a city that has great business opportunities. 'Right now, it just offers something we couldn't replicate elsewhere.' The move will significantly increase his annual income, partly thanks to a new job, but also including the rental income from his Fulham flat and Dubai's generous tax breaks. There is no income tax in Dubai – compared to a minimum of 20pc in the UK, and a maximum of 45pc charged on anything earned over £125,140. 'The ability to earn more is definitely a factor. Britons don't like to talk about finances too much, but the earning opportunities in Dubai are enormous. 'Dubai is booming and will continue to boom,' Rose says. 'When you look at that, when you think about building your future together, whether it's for a number of years or forever, it's so compelling from that perspective. That's one of the big reasons.' Some expats are nervous about moving to Dubai, where rules around alcohol and drugs are much stricter, and where, legally, unmarried couples cannot share a hotel room. Freedom of speech is not a given; women's rights have improved, but do not enjoy the same protection as in much of Europe. For some, falling foul of the law has severe consequences. An 18-year-old British man, Marcus Fakana, was sentenced to a one-year prison sentence last year, after having consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl, also from London, while on holiday in Dubai. But Rose says he's not too worried about the cultural differences. 'I wouldn't say I am worried about those things, but it's going to be a bit of an adjustment. Having visited in recent years, I don't think it's a major cause for concern.' He has been given a driver for his first week by his company, who have also sorted out accommodation for the first fortnight. 'They're trying to ensure a really smooth landing,' Rose says. 'It's going to be a case of me trying to assess where I want us to live.' Rose will spend the next couple of weeks scouting out flats. Rents in Dubai have soared, jumping 16pc on flats last year, according to estate agents Savills. Combined with Emirati landlords' tendency to ask for several months of rent in advance, this can mean a big up-front payment. House prices have also boomed, growing 200pc in the city between the beginning of 2020 and the start of 2024, according to Knight Frank. But while living in Dubai will also be expensive, Rose believes that the couple will still be financially better off. They'll also be able to take advantage of Dubai's status as an international flight hub. 'The ability to have weekends in Oman, the Seychelles, the Maldives, or wherever it is, is something that we are going to try and capitalise on. It would be silly not to make the most of that while we're there.' He and his girlfriend have talked about how long they'd like to live away from the UK, and could be persuaded to stay there long-term. They are also happy to raise a family there. 'In terms of raising a family, it's probably something we will review on a yearly basis, based on, are we happy, does this still work for us? 'It seems to be as good a place as any. But there is an element that we know and we understand, the UK schooling and university system.' Private schooling in Dubai begins from £10,000 a year, well below the estimated average UK day fees of £18,063, figures from St James's Place show. Rose has lived abroad before, in Paris, Buenos Aires, and Prague, and says he will miss his family and friends – but some have hinted that they might follow suit. 'The main things I've missed when I've lived abroad before is the kind of infrastructure we have here, and I mean that personally, with friends, family, and people around to help you. 'If you're moving things out of a flat, or want a catch-up to talk about work, that's something that we will have to get used to not having on our doorstep. Although a few friends of ours have made noises that they might want to join us out in Dubai,' he says. Dominic Volek, of Henley & Partners, a wealth advisor, says: 'Having lived in Dubai for nearly five years now after relocating from Singapore, and originally South Africa, I can honestly say that the lifestyle and convenience here are unmatched.' He adds: 'For Brits, especially those coming from London, Dubai offers a familiar cosmopolitan feel but with the added benefits of year-round sunshine – probably a little too hot in summer – zero income tax and an unmatched sense of possibility.'
Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I've retired in Dubai aged 30 thanks to my property empire'
Have you moved abroad to save on tax? Get in touch at money@ Luigi Newton is busy running his Nottinghamshire property empire from a sun lounger beside a pool with views of the Burj Khalifa. He is one of a wave of British landlords who have moved out to Dubai and remotely manage their businesses back home. He can look after his buy-to-let empire with little more than a smartphone and internet connection and jokes that he has effectively 'retired'. He has 30 HMOs – or houses in multiple occupation, which are a profitable though highly regulated style of property investment. 'All the houses are rented out with agents,' says the 30-year-old. 'I lease half the properties to a social housing provider – refugees and that sort of thing – and the rest to working professionals. 'The social housing ones pay the exact same amount every single month, and they deal with all the management and maintenance issues. Then I have a lot of working professional HMOs. They're looked after by agents, who deal with all the headaches. All I have to do with the working professional ones is sign off any maintenance issues.' It took Newton seven years of refurbishing and refinancing properties to build up his 155-bedroom portfolio, but today he describes it as a largely 'passive' revenue stream. He says it grosses roughly £800,000 per year, although he takes home less than a quarter of that. Newton details to his followers on social media how he and his builders have turned run-down homes into lucrative HMOs. In one video, for example, he explains that he transformed an £85,000 four-bedroom house into a six-room HMO that earns £2,310 a month in rent. He has been spending longer periods in Dubai and is in the process of applying for a business licence to pursue new ventures separate from the HMOs. He says the city, which is estimated to be home to around 240,000 British people, according to Expat Insider, offers more opportunities than the UK. 'A lot of my friends who are in property have moved here,' he adds. 'They spend a month out here, then a week back at home. 'Over here, people treat you like a king. The customer service is amazing. You would need to be seriously rich to live as well as this in the UK.' He's now hoping to find a two-bedroom apartment 'with a communal infinity pool'. 'Dubai is set up for convenience' Newton is far from the only HMO landlord to have been lured to Dubai by its higher quality of life and business-friendly environment. Alfred Dzadey, 32, also found himself packing up and moving there with his family last October. The father-of-one says he has been spending extended periods in the Middle Eastern city since 2022. Originally from south east London, Dzadey built a 60-room HMO portfolio in Coventry after moving to the Midlands to work at the Jaguar Land Rover plant. 'Coventry is a great city for HMOs because there are lots of students and young professionals,' he says. Keen to focus on other business ventures, Dzadey has handed over the management of his HMOs to a letting agency. 'They only take a 7pc management fee, and they handle everything for that,' he explains. 'They send in cleaners every two weeks, arrange inspections every three or four months, and let all the rooms when tenants move out.' Like Newton, Dzadey lives off the passive income from his buy-to-let business. He says his portfolio grosses around £36,000 per month, with his net earnings ranging from 30pc to 40pc of this, depending on tenant turnover. This equates to an annual income of at least £130,000, which allows his family to enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle in Dubai. 'We have a live-in maid, who helps with cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping; stuff that I basically don't want to do,' he says. 'Dubai is set up in a way to provide convenience. I spend money on convenience and being comfortable over the flashy stuff.' It is also great for business, he adds. 'Dubai is great for meeting people ... Nobody is really from here, so every conversation is where are you from, what do you do,' he says. 'I want to be around wealth, so that's why I'm here.' 'I'm being driven out of the UK' Dubai's approach to business played a key role in his decision to relocate. It's a sentiment echoed by Anthony Laville, 36, founder of Birmingham-based Volume Property. The developer, who is primarily involved in larger commercial and residential projects, but also owns some HMOs, says he feels as though he's 'being driven out of the UK' by the Government's 'anti-business' agenda. The father-of-two has been visiting Dubai for more than a decade, but says he has lived there since the new year. 'I'd much rather the UK remain my home,' he says. 'But I think a lot of business owners are considering their tax positions right now.' He adds: 'You wouldn't mind paying lots of tax if the quality of life was better in the UK, but every time I go back, Birmingham seems to be getting worse and worse. 'In Dubai, you pay no income tax and only 9pc corporation tax, so there's a major tax incentive to relocating more permanently.' For now, the Brummie says he's happy just renting and flying home to check on his businesses. 'That's the great thing about Dubai. You can book a flight and be home in Birmingham, or London or wherever the same day. It's a really easy place to be based.'
Biz Bahrain
13-02-2025
- Business
- Biz Bahrain
Bahrain ranked as the number one place to live and work in the world
In the recent annual Expat Insider survey by Munich-based InterNations, a network of 3.2 million expatriates, to identify the best expat destination in the world, Bahrain retained its top position in the global list for the second year in a row. The Kingdom offers incomparable ease for the expats to settle down in comparison to many other dream cities. Bahrain's working hours (44 per cent), job security (33 per cent), or overall job satisfaction (39 per cent) the best possible rating, pushed the Gulf state to the top of the Working Abroad Index by the Munich-based InterNations. In terms of quality of life, Bahrain offers an above-average quality of life, ranking 20th and 25th, respectively. Bahrain leads the way in the Quality of Education subcategory. Across the region, performance is similarly split regarding family well-being. Bahrain, being a family oriented country offers respectively zero rated and exempt from VAT for education and residential contracts. Taiwan gained two spots to move into second place, with strong rankings for job prospects and quality of life. Ecuador, where a massive earthquake in 2016 likely affected expat rankings in 2017, leapt from No. 25 to No. 3, showing improvement in just about every category. The appeal of the US, who held the fifth position in 2013, as a destination for expatriates has slipped to No. 47 out of 68 countries owing to a steadily deteriorating reputation for safety and a perceived lack of affordable health care. This is for the first time America placed among the 15 countries deemed the least safe and secure. Two-thirds of expats in the US view job opportunities positively. Just 17 percent rated the personal safety of their children as 'very good,' compared with a global average of 44 percent. Many expats were afraid of gun violence. The United Kingdom also tumbled this year, falling from No. 21 to No. 59 on the list. Expats cited a high cost of living, with 47 percent considering that a potential negative before moving. London, where thirty-eight percent of UK expats live in is termed as a notoriously expensive city. The weather got poor marks, with just 3 percent rating it as 'very good,' which affected the country's No. 64 ranking for personal happiness. If a new measure for digital life had not been added to the survey's quality of life questions, the US and the UK would have fared even worse in the overall ranking. Expats in both countries said it was easy to get unfettered high-speed digital access at home and to pay without cash, earning the US the 10-highest spot on this measure and the U.K. the No. 15 ranks. High marks for digital life also helped lift Israel to No. 22 in the overall ranking, up from No. 44. Hong Kong trailed Myanmar, Russia and China with its overall ranking of 56. That's a big decline from its standing at No. 33 last year. The special administrative enclave of China was dragged down by poor scores for work-life balance and cost of living. The average full-time work week in Hong Kong was 46.8 hours, compared with a global average of 44 hours. There were some bright spots for the Asian tiger: Seventy-nine percent of expats were positive for Hong Kong's economy, compared with 69 percent the prior year, and the country won the top ranking on transportation infrastructure. The InterNations' annual survey of more than 18,000 expats represented by 178 nationalities and covers every aspect of the cost of education and child care to family life, career prospects and perceptions of safety and political stability.
